The Lion Hearted
by Intricate Fox
Summary: It's been over a year since Loki joined the Avengers and over a year since Natasha realized just how deep her affection runs for the Trickster. Sequel to Teen Spirit. Blackfrost. Slight smut.


Natasha fell to the ground once again, her stomach feeling heavy with the blow as she rolled once again away from her assailant. She leapt to her feet again, bending over backwards to dodge the backwards blow before springing up in a mop of red to knock heads with the Skrull in front of her.

The Skrull reared back, placing a large hand up to its green puce forehead and growling furiously, its beady eyes flashing angrily back at her as she herself reeled from the head smashing.

Her hand sought for a weapon as the Skrull once again shoved her to the ground, her fingers scraping along grimy asphalt in the dark alleyway surrounded by nothing but garbage left for the elements. A tall railed fence cut off her way leaving her trapped in close confinements with the reptilian creature who moved towards her with an open leer.

Her hands finally found a long metallic something on the ground. She grabbed at it glad to find a crowbar in her clutches, a far cry from her pistol, lost somewhere in the garbage bags in the corner of the alley.

The crowbar had a lot less finesse, but it would do.

Natasha gripped it closer and threw it out with all the strength she could muster, hoping upon hope her aim would sail true.

_SQUICK.  
_  
The crowbar had to have been embedded about an inch into the scaled figure's forehead. For a moment a triumphant grin lined her lips, slowly melting away as the figure grunted, grabbed the end of the crowbar protruding from the crown of it's head and pulled. A black oozing liquid spurted from the hole, Natasha's lip instantly curled as the smell of petrol entered the area.

Something told her that touching the substance was somehow not going to work out in her favour and the Skrull was now advancing on her looking more ferocious then before as the toxic looking blood dripped down its cheeks and across its bared teeth.

"Oh_ fu_-," she began before being rushed at, and thrown over the shoulder of the beast, legs flailing on its chest as she grunted in frustration at the harsh grip the creature had on her thighs, _"son of a_-,"

"Are you in need of assistance?"

Natasha's eyes flew up to the dark figure leaning on the fire escape right above her, an annoying smirk tilted on his lips as he stared down at the struggling pair. Natasha frowned, kicking her legs backward as she grabbed hold of the creature's neck and tossing him over her own shoulder.

Her eyes flew back up to the trickster as the Skrull flailed on the ground.

"No," she snapped as the Skrull kicked her legs out from underneath her, she fell to the ground with another undignified grunt.

"Of course you aren't," Loki allowed with a shrug before disappearing into thin air.

Natasha turned her attention back to the Skrull who moved to pin her to the ground, she yelled out as spittle flew into her face, her hands finding the thick neck and trying to squeeze.

She looked to her side and saw Loki leaning against the graffiti marred war, his fingers playing along the trigger of _her_ pistol, retrieved from the garbage in the corner.

"And now?" He asked as she struggled underneath the creature's hold.

Her eyes flickered longingly to the pistol in his hands, her lips pressing thinly together as she growled out another negative, digging her nails further into the Skrull's neck who gagged above her, his own thick hand coming up to surround her thinner neck.

Loki sighed tossing the pistol up into the air, watching it twirl easily before catching it again in his other hand, "you don't have to be so stubborn darling."

Natasha shimmied a leg underneath the creature, before pushing up with the toes of her boot in one mighty thrust that allowed the Skrull's grip to loosen substantially enough to push him off altogether, kicking him to the side.

She leapt to her feet once more, rushing over to Loki and snatching the pistol out of mid-air as he chose to twirl it. He gave her a teasing smile as she pressed the barrel against his handsome jaw line, green eyes glittering in amusement.

"I don't need help," she told him lightly, his hands coming up in mock surrender.

"Alright," he leant back against the wall further, arms folding over his chest as Natasha spun back around just as the Skrull started to stampede towards them.

Natasha cocked her gun bringing it up quickly and pulling the trigger the bullet speeding right through the wound already made by the crowbar and right out the back of it's head.

The hulking figure stopped in its steps, an overall dumb look coming over its features as its eyes rolled up and fell with a mighty crash onto the asphalt at Natasha's feet.

Natasha smiled sharply, turning around to give Loki a poignant tilt of her chin.

He grinned back at her. "Done?"

"_Yes_," She turned back around, stepping onto the immobile figure and over its body, wiping the sweat off her brow as Loki followed her with quick steps, his green cloak sweeping over green skin as he moved.

"You're angry?" He inquired thoughtfully.

"I'm not," she replied with a scowl as Loki placed a hand on her shoulder turning her fully around to face him, towering over her with a sweep of dark hair and pale features. His eyes were narrowed in scrutiny as he placed his other hand against her cheek and tilted it. She pressed her lips together again as he hummed lowly in the back of his throat.

"Frustrated?"

She shook her head.

"Annoyed?"

She paused, lips quirking before shaking her head again. Loki smiled along with her, his face leaning closer as she turned her own upwards.

"_Aroused?_" he asked this time, his hand slipping from her shoulder and onto her waist.

Natasha clucked her tongue, "You're getting further."

"Am I now?"

Loki's lips touched hers, at first just the softest brush before becoming firm in its resolve. Her own arms came around his shoulders, playing along the armor she found there her fingers traced along the metallic grooves as she deepened the kiss. Loki's own fingers dug into her waist as their bodies pressed together, Natasha on the toes of her feet at the strength of her lover's eager embrace.

_Loki_, she had found during the year of being together,_ liked to be touched._

When finally pressuring the others into allowing Loki a place among them, he had procured a wing of his own and chambers to himself inside the Avenger's manor.

This attempt of space seemed unnecessary, the first night of Loki's initiation found Natasha waking up to his embrace, arm slung around her protectively and legs tucked between her own. It had been like that every night since.

She wondered how long, since Loki's falling from Asgard, how _long_ it had been since someone had held him willingly in their arms without hate and unabashed resentment?

Natasha feared he would find some of it in the beginning, distrust still settled into her bones previously from when his life journey was to disrupt her own.

That had changed.

A lot of things had changed since _that _strange occurrence.

The thought of high school teachers and teenage awkwardness flittered unnecessarily through her head, brushed away as she pushed her tongue up against Loki's, tangling and clashing in a silent battle of lust plain and simple.

"Ugh, _stop_."

They broke apart both frowning as they looked up to see Ironman, aka the one and only (and possibly the most annoying) Tony Stark. He hovered above the railed fencing, black slits staring them down as Loki looked away and nuzzled into her neck. Natasha could practically feel Stark rolling his eyes at them.

"You guys need to help Cappy, he's having trouble containing the battalion," his voice echoed inside his helmet, metallic gauntlets waving out in front of him. "Keep the schmoozing till later."

Natasha tensed at the information, adrenaline running clear in her veins. Loki sighed wearily into the crook of her neck. "Where?"

"Over by the Square."

Natasha nodded in the affirmative, Tony zooming away quickly at the admission to deal with his own squadron of Skrulls.

Loki pressed another kiss into her neck before moving away, looking thoroughly put out, the red haired assassin gave him a small smile.

"I can help," he stated as she started to turn. "I've already detained my own portion."

Natasha shut her eyes briefly, "We've talked about this."

"Is it a crime to want to aid you? Is your pride really that egotistical?" Her eyes flew open again, shooting a warning glance over her shoulder at Loki who frowned in response, his voice turning glacial. "I suppose I'll see you back at the manor then."

A wave of guilt washed over Natasha, "Loki…"

He disappeared in a flash of green, leaving her alone in the alleyway to deal with the etchings of guilt running through her, quickly forgotten as a blast sounded not far away. She turned on the balls of her feet and ran to Steve's aid. 

* * *

Natasha dropped her pistol onto the counter, dragging a hand through her grimy hair and frowning at the ominous green ooze that had settled there. The Skrulls just _had_ to bring a pet with them didn't they?

She flicked it into the sink, her lips pursed in disgust as Clint tore by behind her towards the reflective bowl that sat on the bench, picking it up quickly and squinting at his scorched fringe. Thor shuffled awkwardly on his feet behind him pouting lip and all as Clint continued his tirade.

"-don't care about _minimal perimeters_," he was saying, face screwing up as he slammed the bowl back onto the marble counter and spun to look at the fidgeting Thunderer, fingers pointing emphatically to just above his eyes. "My eyebrows are _gone_, Thor."

Thor looked around wearily as the other Avenger's, minus Banner, piled into the kitchen, placing their weapons down as they did so.

Peter, another superhero to join their squad, tried to muffle his laughter in his fist.

Clint threw an apple at him, the young team member back handing it into Steve's face as he walked through the door. The blonde grunted and flailed his hands at the unprecedented attack before realising the offending fruit for what it was and sighing as he placed it back onto the counter.

"I did apologise," Thor rumbled sadly as Hawkeye continued to glare at Peter who mimed his web shooter.

"Honey, I'm home," Tony sang entering through the common room still suited up in his Ironman suit, face plate lifted to reveal a charming grin and chocolate brown eyes. He looked around cheerfully at the rather sullen room, smile dropping slightly.

"What's with all the long faces? We won! Somebody find the key to the liquor cabinet, _not _you Spidey," he broke off at Peter's hopeful expression. "You have a couple of years till you even touch a whole bottle of Passion Pop."

"I'm eighteen," Peter grumbled, perching himself down on one of the kitchen stools. "Not fifteen."

Tony clapped him on the back before turning back to Clint, his smile breaking out upon his face as he laughed. "What happened to you? You're all shish ke-_Barton_."

Clint hissed through his teeth, hand landing back to where his eyebrows should have been. "Thor got overzealous with his light show. Now if you excuse me, I need a god damn shower and a couple of Tylenol."

The archer left with hunched shoulders, muttering under his breath as he disappeared. Thor sighed sadly placing Mjolnir down at his feet as both Peter and Steve retired to their own rooms. Tony placed a hand on the Thunder God's shoulder with a small smile.

"Don't beat yourself up about it Fabio," the billionaire told him. "He just needs a little time to preen his feathers."

Natasha looked to Thor who nodded at Tony's words, scratching his head and looking lost it made her sympathy peak slightly.

"Is this about Jane?" she asked quietly, the blonde shifting at the words restlessly as though they had physically butted into him. "Did your last meeting not go well?"

"She is changed," Thor told her with a frown. "She brought up concerning topics, Asgardian topics that have the means to sever our bond."

Natasha wasn't sure what could have been so alarming to risk the two's relationship, she did know however that Thor was having a hard time bringing his Father around to his eldest son's romantic liaisons with a mortal.

Natasha felt a spike enter her chest when she compared this to her own relationship with an outer-dimensional being.

"I need to go…polish Mjolnir," Thor mumbled, striding from the room, his hammer back in his grip. Natasha watched him go with a small frown.

"Trouble in paradise, huh?" Tony commented walking to his coffee machine and switching it on. A blissful smile lined his lips as the machine churned pleasantly, ready to offer its services. "Speaking of paradise, you and our resident psychopath are still going strong I see"

Natasha gave him a derisive look that all but said it was entirely none of his business. He chuckled at the look, placing a cup underneath the spout watching as dark liquid poured into it.

"You can be as secretive as you like," he told her as she moved towards the door and elevator. "The walls are thin!" 

* * *

Natasha leant her head against the reflective surface of the elevator, shutting her eyes briefly and silently categorising her injuries. It was hard job, not one she expected when being drafted as an assassin back in Russia. She thought of the young girl, barely into adolescence being dropped into that institution after her father had been killed in cold blood right in front of her.

She couldn't remember his face.

Gun toting and technology wielding villains was one thing, she had grown up around them her whole life, had made sure they were not to affect her life as much as they wished to.

She tried normalcy for such a brief time, but felt it gnawed on her and entered back into the field of assassination she had tried so hard to be free of. It was like an addiction, tobacco embedded deeply onto her tongue refusing to slide off.

She had fought many, many men who over compensated with rifles and pistols, but only until that incident nearly six years ago now did the thought of the extra-terrestrial really take place.

Aliens pouting from the sky in overwhelming numbers that had almost made her fall to the ground and throw away her guns. Suddenly the world felt too small, but despite this she kept fighting, hoping to see a new day.

She had taken that damned spear and shoved it into the fail-safe of the portal maker, her arms tingling with the rush of cosmic energy as she did so, gritting her teeth as the sky above her, gaping open started to sew itself shut.

Aliens, beings from other worlds and galaxies threatening her home and she had stopped them, her and a handful of other spectacular individuals had paused that particular conquest.

But their victory had sent a warning to the stars, and others soon came seeking glory. These years had been rough, unbelievable in a way.

She opened her eyes with a small smile as JARVIS announced the level to where her quarters were placed.

Oh_ yes_, and the fact that she was currently in a very committed relationship with the man who started it all, an extra-terrestrial in his own sense, was just the cherry on top of the cake of weird and unusual occurrences.

If you had asked Natasha where she thought she would be over a decade ago as she threw her graduation cap skywards with hopes for a better future, it would _not_ be here.

But she wouldn't want it to be anywhere else either.

She stepped out of the lift, walking purposefully down the hallway to the room at the end. Passing one of the doors she could hear the shower running, Clint's off key tones of "_Call Me Maybe_" muffled against the sound of falling water.

She reached her door pausing momentarily, remembering Loki was most likely still angry with her silent dismissal. Natasha sighed, ready to face the inevitable music as she opened the door to her now shared living quarters.

Loki stood against the floor to ceiling window, his lithe back to hers as he gazed out upon the busy roads below. Natasha moved quietly but she knew he knew that she was there. She raked a hand through her hair still damp with ominous goo that she grimaced at once more.

"You're not asleep," she stated quietly, dropping the hand back down to her side and wiping it against the cloth of her thigh. Loki raised a short glass of amber liquid to his lips and sipped delicately, not bothering to turn around and face her.

"No, I'm not," he said plainly, a bitter tone edging around its trimmings. "Nothing gets past those keen senses of yours."

He turned to look at her then, spotted the look of hurt that crossed her face as quickly as it left. His eyes widened momentarily, looking away from her his lips settled into a small frown looking ashamed at what he had said. "I apologise, I did not mean to sound so brazen. Not to you."

Natasha felt her heart ache, she moved forwards quickly taking his face into her hands and directing his gaze back to hers. She could never get over how handsomely his face was set, the sharp angles and young alabaster skin of a youthful god.

"No, don't apologise," she told him shaking her head firmly. "I'm sorry."

Loki frowned in confusion then, the skin between his brows furrowing, making him look like a sad kitten as much as Thor looked like a down trodden puppy. She took a deep breath before exhaling, grabbing his hand in hers and gently pulling him towards the bed in another small alcove of their living quarters. He sat down next to her, eyes still imploring.

"I've never been dependant on_ anyone_ before," she explained, shifting on the cotton sheets and squeezing his hands gently in her own. "It's hard for me to let go of what I've made on my own, what I've done to get here without feeling a bit more attached then what is probably healthy. I'm not proud of a lot of the things I've done, but at least I know it was by my means alone."

Loki looked as though he wished to speak here, his mouth opening to say something before Natasha silenced it with a pointed finger on his lips.

"I _like_ fighting," she told him, determined to say what had been on her mind whenever Loki tried to help in her own battles. "It's what I was trained to do. And as much as I love your clever hands," she smiled, reaching back down to his hands and threading her fingers through his long pale ones. "Sometimes I need my own to snuff out some carnage," she looked back up at him, smirk set on her lips as she drove the last word hopefully home, "_alone."_

Loki seemed to deflate in front of her, whatever argument leaving his tongue at her words. He knew what it was like to be treated as helpless, indeed growing up in Asgard where a warriors training didn't take quite as quickly to him as it did to his brother always grated on him even into adulthood.

Just because his talents lied in a woman's art, that he chose tactics over brawn and mind over matter, did not make him weak or inferior. He had always hated Thor for interfering with his own battles under the assumptions that he could not handle them himself. He should have known better then to insult the one person he cared most about with the same treatment he had bared the brunt of his whole life.

He reached out to twirl a strand of red hair around his fingers, smiling apologetically and nodding, "I suppose I can understand that."

"Forgive me?"

He looked up at that, his eyes widening as she appeared most concerned about his approval, about his forgiveness that was not his own when he should be apologising for seemingly belittling her in the field of combat.

Instead he barked out a sharp laugh that felt uncomfortable to his own ears. How much Natasha had changed him so, his little spider ensnaring him in a web he could not be free of, never _wanted_ to be free of.

She was his better half, a constant force of good to keep him grounded when sometimes all he wished to do was give up all their work. It was there, niggling at the back of his mind, something buried deep and wishing to be released, something they had worked so hard to smother.

He had even taken SHEILD's counselling sessions for her, had done community service for her, he would destroy world's for her if it mattered.

"We've grown so maudlin haven't we?" he asked with another smaller laugh. "Where has the time of pure and utter chaos gone? I do miss the screaming."

She rolled her eyes skywards, shoving him away from her with her own smile, "Evil."

"Eccentric," he reiterated, moving back and pushing her down upon the bed, faces inches from each other, eyes focusing entirely on the other.

"Psycho," she joked, leaning up to kiss the point of his nose.

He followed her lips, latching on to them with his own, groaning into it as she lifted her hips up to grind against his pelvis and quickly hardened cock issuing a heavy warmth. They moaned into each other's mouths, the sound delicious against his ears.

He broke off then, Natasha's arms around his shoulders as she continued to bite kisses into his jaw, his neck. Loki's hands found their way to her heavy belt, tugging at the buckles to release the straps and halters, shucking it away as soon as it was free. His hands found its way underneath the near-painted material of her uniform, fingers stretching out along porcelains skin before coming to rest at the junction of her hip.

"I suppose if I can at least make one_ particular_ mortal scream," he murmured happily as Natasha moved backwards to help take off her own top and basic bra.

She moved to release his own casual grey one, much easier to be rid of with her own quick hands.

He sighed as the breeze of the AC hit his chest, "It's worth the trouble to remain, what do you call it? A hero?" Natasha fell back to the bed and started laughing; Loki frowned at that, leaning down to leave a wet stripe along the side of her body. "Oh you find that funny do you? My pride is wounded."

They knew this game, almost as soon as Loki had joined the odd little family of Avengers did Natasha find herself giving into each and every little touch. He knew what to do, knew where to touch, where to really please her.

He would go out of his way to see her pleased before himself, would like to see the euphoria in her eyes when she reached her limit. Many times she wondered if he simply liked to see her at her most vulnerable, the most open.

Certainly in her past relationships she was the one driving the sexual encounters, she was the one dominating her partner sending them into submissive positions and never uttering a word apart from their blissful blurting.

Loki was different.

She was beautifully, horrendously, compromised.

"Loki…" she breathed out as he kissed the inner of her thighs having rid of her of her pants quite some time ago, he left tingling trails of wet kisses against her smooth skin.

He hummed against her, sending a shock to course through her body as he licked that most delicate part of her. He could tear her apart if he wished it, leave her a quaking mewling mess, but he wouldn't unless she wished for it and at that moment all she wanted him to do was fill her.

He granted her wish, positioning himself above her and driving his length slowly into his body, her nails digging into his shoulders leaving red bitten crescents into his skin.

He started to rock gently, and she met each rock with her own meeting each other on an equal ground they had both strived to achieve from the day they were born. He was so gentle with her but hard when she needed him to be, but always attentive.

He loved her, she knew he did in the way his gaze was always locked on her, the way his hands lingered with each touch.

"He's, without a doubt, freaking in love with you," was Monica's written response. Her teenaged friend since her time of _that_ particular incident wasn't afraid to be brutally honest with her.

She had seen the tabloids, the full blown images on the front page news of The Daily Bugle of her and Loki together. The gossip pages had gone wild and Fury had a hell of a time trying to clear that up.

Natasha had even gotten death threats, some from angered civilians, and others by horny and obsessive fan girls.

Loki had fun reading through those.

"I warned you," Monica told her, adding a smug little emoticon to her post with waggling eyebrows when the news broke and all could see Loki looking upon Natasha with clear adoration and admiration, his hand lingering in the locks of her red hair.

The editor for the Daily Bugle had a field day demonizing the both of them, which was funnily enough how they met Peter after having made a rather impromptu visit to the headquarters.

She moaned loudly as Loki hit her sweet spot, her eyelids fluttering as he grounded into it a couple more times, her breath coming out in sharp bursts.

She looked to Loki's own feverish gaze and could see the emotion embedded into it and suppressed the urge to sob with its intensity. They didn't need to say it, they knew exactly how the other felt. She thanked the stars for her team's foolishness over a year ago, when they had burst into Loki's lair unawares and fell straight first into an imperfect spell that had transformed them back into adolescents.

She cupped his face as she breathed out another blissful sigh, Loki grinned above her, "Beautiful little spider, how you have ensnared me so."

Natasha gasped out as he drove deeper into her, her back arching up like a cat as he cupped her hips mindful of the bruises blossoming there. They continued on-wards, meeting each thrust like their life depended on it, whispering soft sentiments to each other that made her chest quake and his tremble. They loved each other so blindly despite their faults.

Loki came with a shout, his body tensing as he filled her to the brim until she followed with her own screams of satisfaction before he slid out of her and fell to her side chest heaving with the exertion and smile pasted brightly upon his face. She could see the whites of his teeth, the tip of his tongue protruding from the gap in between.

She smiled shutting her eyes, her body aching from both her injuries and now the ones won from pleasure. "Oh god."

"Yes?" Loki answered without a hitch, coughing as she hit him hard with a back hand to his gut.

"That's only funny the first time you do it," she told him, eliciting another broken laugh that made her heart pound. She curled into his side, thankful for his presence, thankful that he was hers and much as she was his.

"Do you ever think about home?" she asked then after a short silence that allowed them to gain back steady breath's. She was unsure of why the question had been sitting on her tongue, though that was a lie.

Ever since that small talk with Thor a certain amount of dread had filled her. Thor's heritage would eventually stop him from pursuing a life with Jane, if his father decreed it wrong then Thor would no doubt give up his claim of love and return to the responsibility that came with being the elder son of Odin.

Loki had cut his ties with Asgard a long time ago, and despite his many reasoning's that he never wished to return, sometimes when Thor came back after visiting the golden palace, there was longing in his eyes.

He missed it, but he would never admit it.

She wondered how far Odin's hold went on Loki, if Loki's now known heritage would free him from the responsibilities, the expectations that came with growing up known only as the second Prince of Asgard? Would the King of Asgard try to interfere?

Would Natasha find herself in an empty bed once word reached Asgard of Loki's own relationships with a mere mortal woman? It hurt her head to think about.

"My home is here, with you," he answered without hesitation, his hand coming to splay against her shoulder before moving to cup her neck.

She thought about Jane and Thor, about how their own relationship was no doubt about to be severed with the words of an old traditionalist that sat upon a gold gilded throne.

"For how long?" she asked quietly, Loki blinking in mild confusion before surging forward to place a kiss upon her lips and whisper against them, eyes searching hers.

"Forever, darling Natasha," he stated clearly, pressing another kiss against her forehead and embracing her warmly. "That I promise."

**END**

* * *

******A/N: **I promised a one shot and here it is. I for some reason, didn't make it too smutty, there is smut but I don't know this site scares me into making it very slight. As slight as I can make it at least. This took _forever_ to churn out. Sorry, my mind and time has been dedicated to other stories and also life, which sucks.  
So this is the short sequel to the continuation of Teen Spirit. I don't know if I'm laying it to rest because I have ideas but so little time to make them happen. So for now, this is it. Thanks so much for reading :)


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